Spiced Up Red Lentilsmasoor Dal Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat oil, and sauté onion until softened. Add sweet potato, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add minced ginger and garlic; stir, and reduce heat to low.
• Finely dice chili, keeping seeds if you wish to add more heat. Add chili, lentils, coriander, cumin, turmeric and ground ginger to pan. Stir until lentils are well coated with oil. Add tomatoes and 4 cups water. Raise heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat until mixture is at a fast simmer. Cook uncovered until lentils and potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt, and continue to simmer until mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes. Whisk dal to amalgamate lentils and sweet potatoes. If dal is too soupy, increase heat and cook for a little longer.
• To serve, place dal in a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. If desired, shave thin strips of fresh coconut on top. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Put oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; when it is hot, add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes; set aside.
• Meanwhile, combine the lentils, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cloves, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a saucepan. Add water to cover by about 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with salt and more pepper and keep cooking to desired tenderness. Lentils should be saucy but not soupy.
• Remove cloves from pan and add reserved sauteed onion. Stir in butter if you are using it. Taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish with cilantro and serve.

Steps:

• Mix the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat until it shimmers. Add the spices and saute until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir in onion and cook till softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook till fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Now stir in the water and lentils. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender and resemble a coarse puree, 20-25 minutes. (At this point, you may refrigerate the lentils in an airtight container up to 2 days. Reheat over medium low heat before continuing).
• Stir in tomatoes, cilantro, and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. Enjoy!
• Variation:.
• Substitute 1 cup coconut milk for 1 cup of the water and omit butter. Using coconut milk makes for a lush, creamy texture and rich flavor. Don't use light coconut milk. You can freeze any leftover coconut milk.

Steps:

• In a medium sized pot over medium flame, add 1 tbsp peanut oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ginger powder, and 1 tsp garam masala powder. Stir spices and oil together, allow to fry slightly (when you smell the spices releasing their fragrance you're done).
• Add the dal and water to cover (by an inch or so), turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Skim off foam that forms on top and discard. Cover and turn the heat to low. Allow to simmer until dal begins to fall apart and is cooked through. While cooking, monitor the water level. If it is too low, the dal will burn to the bottom of the pan, so add more water. If the water level is too high, uncover the pan so some will evaporate. When done, the dal should be a porridge consistency--not watery, but not burning to the bottom of the pot.
• Heat frozen green peas (I usually defrost in the microwave with a few tablespoons of water), drain excess water, and add to cooked dal.
• Taste dal and adjust salt. Since you have not salted the pan yet, you may need to add a few teaspoons to tablespoons of salt. Add slowly--you can always add more but it is hard to get rid of too much.
• Make the tadka: In a frying pan over medium heat add the butter, 1 tsp tumeric powder, 2 tsp garam masala powder, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Fry lightly until spices release their fragrance. Add the onion and fry for another few minutes to the softness you desire. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another 2 minutes. Add tadka mixture to dal mixture and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Serve Spice Kissed Masoor Dal over rice with yogurt, raita, red raw onions, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes or other fresh vegetables of your liking.
• To read about dal, visit the wikipedia page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal.
• To read about tadka, visit the wikipedia page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaunk.